Field of Invention
This invention relates to a cover for covering a vehicle which transports people and to the connecting system which connects the cover to the vehicle.
People dislike entering an extremely hot vehicle and dislike sun damage to their vehicle's fabrics, vinyls, plastics, and other parts. Fold out cardboard shields, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,396 to Levy (1980) do not shield enough of the vehicles's interior to cool the vehicle much or protect it much from sun damage. Full length covers are readily available and offer much better protection than cardboard shields. Although full length covers are available today, they are not used as much as cardboard shields because they are difficult and time consuming to put on the vehicle, cost too much, and can be readily stolen. A mini-cover which covers only the passenger compartment is the best solution. It protects the vehicle's important parts from sun caused damage and excessive heat increase. The mini-cover is quick and easy to install and inexpensive. However, the connecting system which prevents or resist removal of the mini-cover from the vehicle needs to be quick and easy to use, practical, and inexpensive to manufacture; prior art has failed to produce such a connecting system.
Prior art for covers and connecting systems have negative qualities that cause people to avoid buying and using them. Prior art is either difficult to use, too time consuming to use, complicated, too expensive, or too damaging to the vehicle. Prior art for connecting systems does not provide primary connection of the cover to the vehicle by use of (1) an anchor which is attached to the vehicle and remains with the vehicle when the cover is removed; and (2) a fastener member which is outside the vehicle and releasably connects the cover to the anchor or connects the cover to an arm member secured to the vehicle. The anchor would make connection of the cover to the vehicle easier and quicker than prior art.
The closes prior is U.S. Pat. No. 4,209,197 to Fischer (1980). However, Fischer's invention does not provide a releasable anchor attached to the vehicle with the anchor having a means to receive a separate fastener; the fastener would connect the cover to the anchor or connect an arm of the cover to the anchor. Fischer's invention also involves too many parts requiring too much time to be installed in order to secure the cover to the vehicle. It involves multiple clamping strips that wedge the cover into grooves in the vehicle. It involves nipples fixed to the vehicle's rain gutter. The nipples are pushed through grommets attached to the cover. Also, the invention requires a rain gutter on the vehicle, which my invention does not require. Fischer's invention also comprises a cover which is divided into two or more sections which must be joined to each other to form a complete cover. This cover joining process is difficult and time consuming.
The simplest invention for a connecting system in common use with full length vehicle covers is difficult to use, when compared to my invention. It consists of a cable running underneath the vehicle between the front and rear tires with the ends of the cable joined to opposite sides of the cover. One joint of the cover and cable involves a lock. The cable is difficult to install since a person must toss the cable under the vehicle in such a way that the opposite end of the cable falls on the other side of the vehicle and not underneath the vehicle. If the end is not tossed far enough, the person may have to kneel on the ground to retrieve the tossed end from underneath the vehicle. The cable and the person's clothing may become soiled due to contact with the ground during the installation process.
Another invention which is difficult to install and use is U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,418 to Koh (1986). It is attached to the underside of a trunk lid. Rolling or folding the cover back into the storage compartment to which the cover is attached is difficult and time consuming. Attaching the cover to hooks fixed to the underside of the vehicle is also time consuming and difficult.
Another invention which is difficult to use is U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,839 to Rosen (1982). It has straps secured to various locations on the inside of the cover with a large bulb on the free end of each strap. It is difficult to place the free ends in the passenger compartment and close the doors on the straps while simultaneously preventing any free ends from coming out. The free ends secure the cover to the vehicle because the free ends can not pass between the passage between the door edge and door frame. It is difficult and time consuming to remove the straps from the vehicle. A person must roll up the sides of the cover and place the cover's sides on the roof of the vehicle in order for a person to have access to open the doors. By opening the doors, the free ends can be removed from the compartment.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,406 to Weatherspoon (1988) provides a cover for windows with straps joined to the cover. The straps are fastened to mating fasteners fixed to the interior of the vehicle. Using the invention requires: placing the cover on the windshield, getting into the vehicle, and fastening the ends of the straps to mating fasteners inside the interior of the vehicle while holding the cover in place. This is difficult and time consuming.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,728 to Akers (1989) is for a cover with a bag attached to the cover. The bag is placed in the vehicle with the door closed on it. This serves to secure the cover to the vehicle in a similar manner as U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,839 to Rosen (1982). It also includes straps attached to the cover with their free ends fixed to semipliable hooks. The hooks are bent to grip a fender well or other vehicle feature. Constantly bending and unbending the hooks seems difficult, time consuming, and damaging to the vehicle's paint by the abrasive action of the hook pressing dirt against the vehicle's paint. If the portion of the vehicle to which the hooks grip is soiled, the hooks may become soiled. Using soiled hooks may soil the hands of the user. If the cover and hooks are stored together, the cover may also become soiled. Finally, the soiled cover could scratch the vehicle's paint if the soil contains abrasives. The connecting system does not contain any part which remains with the vehicle to make reconnection of the cover to the vehicle easy, quick, and less damaging to the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,207 to Clarke (1989) has a cover with an elasticized bottom hem, grommets on each bottom side of the cover for connection of a rope running under the middle of the vehicle, and a port hole in the cover which allows a part of the vehicle or a cable to extend through it. A lock can be attached to the part or cable extending through the port hole and secure the cover by being too large to be able to be passed back through the port hole. This invention has a difficult to use rope running under the vehicle. Using a cover with an elasticized hem is difficult and awkward. The port hole is an impractical feature because there is no uniform sized part on most vehicle to fit through the port hole. And, there are not many protruding parts on vehicles with features that can be locked to by common locks. The connecting system does not contain any part which remains with the vehicle to make reconnection of the cover to the vehicle easy and quick.
There are several inventions which are too complicated and expensive such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,254 to Spencer (1979) which involves a lever, ribs, straps, bars, and other mechanical parts including an optional beanie twirler on top.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,519,644 to Song (1985) is another invention for covers that is too complicated and too expensive. It has an excessive number of parts and is expensive to manufacture. It is comprised of an accordion like arrangement of ribs attached to the cover. The ribs supposedly aid the process of unfolding the cover over the longitudinal length of the vehicle.
Inventions that create an air space between the cover and vehicle are complicated, expensive to manufacture, or difficult to use. These include U.S. Pat. No. 4,184,501 to Johnson (1980), U.S. Pat. No. 4,432,581 to Guma (1984) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,164,233 to McAndrew (1979). A simple flexible cover can reduce interior temperatures without such complicated and expensive parts needed to create the air space.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,216,989 to Tackett (1980) is an example of prior art which causes too much damage to the vehicle, is too complex, and is too expensive. The container of the cover, being a device which also connects the cover to the vehicle, is secured to the roof of the vehicle, has an ejection device to eject the cover from the container, and contains the cover when the cover is folded up into the container. Securing the container to the vehicle involves damaging the vehicle by screwing the container to the roof of the vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,418 to Koh (1986), previously mentioned, involves damage to the vehicle by fixing hooks to the underside of the vehicle.
Magnets used as the primary means to secure the cover to the vehicle are impractical because magnets do not prevent removal of the cover by strong gusts of wind. Some inventions use additional securing means to supplement the magnets. This combination involving magnets is unnecessary and causes the cover and connecting means to be too expensive. An invention having straps connected to the underside of a vinyl plastic cover, the straps connected to the interior of the vehicle, and magnets used to secure the cover to the vehicle's exterior is U.S. Pat. No. 3,910,330 to Johnson (1975). U.S. Pat. No. 3,763,908 to Norman (1973) uses magnets as the primary means of securing the cover to the vehicle. Straps are used to supplement the magnetic securing of the cover. The straps are clamped by the window. Clamping the straps by closing the window is time consuming and difficult to do.
Full length covers are difficult and time consuming to use because they are large, bulky, difficult to remove, difficult to fold up and store, and difficult to put on the vehicle. Prior art for connecting systems are neither simple nor inexpensive.